Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 2602Murder · Co. Dublin · 26 Jan 1999

Gerald Dunne, convicted of 1999 Dolphin's Barn stabbing, critically ill after prison collapse

Gerald Dunne, 49, who was convicted in 2004 of the 1999 murder of Liam Thompson, 20, in Dolphin's Barn, Dublin, was found unconscious in his cell at Wheatfield Prison on 28 December 2024 and is critically ill in a Dublin hospital. The article provides detailed background on the murder, three trials, and the conviction.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced6 Jan
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
20 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatHe was fighting for his life for several days after the collapse (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatHe stabbed Thompson to death during a row that started over the use of a call box (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatOne relative left the pub to get a taxi and got into a fight with Dunne at the call box (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatDunne threatened to give the relative HIV during the fight (irishmirror.ie)
  • whereHis previous address was Rafter's Avenue, Drimnagh, Dublin (irishmirror.ie)
  • whereAfter the funeral, relatives went for a drink in the Rialto House pub off the South Circular Road (irishmirror.ie)
  • whenHe has been locked up since the end of January 1999 (irishmirror.ie)
  • causeThe reason for his collapse is unclear (irishmirror.ie)
  • causeThompson suffered a fatal wound to his heart as well as injuries to his abdomen and abrasions to the head and neck (irishmirror.ie)
  • causeThe stab wound went through the front wall and through the right ventricle and into the cavity of the heart (irishmirror.ie)
  • causeThompson bled from the injury to the sack surrounding his heart leading to his collapse and death (irishmirror.ie)
  • weaponThompson was stabbed with a knife (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtDunne went through three trials over the murder (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtA second trial collapsed (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtIn 2019 Dunne failed in a High Court bid to challenge his jail disciplinary process (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherDunne is 49 years old (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThompson's grandfather had been buried on the day of the murder (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherIn November 2017 officers found an improvised knife wrapped in tissue paper under his mattress in a cell search (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherOfficers also found an almost full bag of razor blades on a shelf in the cell (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherDunne was found responsible for the items and sanctioned by prison bosses (irishmirror.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 6 Jan2025
    Sentencedirishmirror.ie, first report
    Knife murderer locked up for 26 years 'seriously ill after prison collapse'

    Reports that Gerald Dunne, serving a 26-year sentence for the 1999 murder of Liam Thompson, was found unconscious in his Wheatfield Prison cell on 28 December 2024 and is critically ill in a Dublin hospital. Provides extensive background on the murder, the three trials, the pathologist's evidence, and a 2017 prison disciplinary matter.

    victim, Liam Thompson, 20, male, irish (judged from name)Liam Thompsonconvicted, Gerald Dunne, 49, male, named, irish (judged from name)Gerald Dunne